November Sunrise
02-28-2008, 03:45 PM
The article below was posted over at Indianasportman.com. I do not know where this article was originally published as a link was not provided.
I found the following statement from the article to be very interesting:
Although he declined to comment on Indiana’s deer management plan, Mike Tonkovich, Ohio’s top deer biologist, had a lot to say about long, drawn-out deer gun seasons. And none of it was good.
“If the goal is to cull more deer from the herd, there is no question that short, separated seasons is the way to go,” he said.
Even with two additional days last year, Ohio allowed only 13 days of combined firearms deer hunting in 2007. They also didn’t open gun season until November 26, more than a week later than Indiana.
“We experimented with a longer gun season in Ohio in 1995 and 1996. The additional days only accounted for two percent of the harvest,” Tonkovich revealed. “It was not worth the effort, and didn’t help us control the herd in any way.”
Here's the full text of the piece:
IDNR deer management out of step
February 8, 2008
Indiana’s firearm deer season is like none other in the Midwest. With 32 days of combined gun hunting allowed here, we not only have the longest seasons, but we’re also one of only a few states that open gun season during the peak of the chasing phase of the rut. That liberal management style has drawn the ire of hunters for years with little response by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
But hunters aren’t the only people who question the way our DNR structures deer season. Landowners and trained deer managers don’t understand why we have such long gun seasons either.
Though he declined to comment on Indiana’s deer management plan, Mike Tonkovich, Ohio’s top deer biologist, had a lot to say about long, drawn-out deer gun seasons. And none of it was good.
“If the goal is to cull more deer from the herd, there is no question that short, separated seasons is the way to go,” he said.
Even with two additional days last year, Ohio allowed only 13 days of combined firearms deer hunting in 2007. They also didn’t open gun season until November 26, more than a week later than Indiana.
“We experimented with a longer gun season in Ohio in 1995 and 1996. The additional days only accounted for two percent of the harvest,” Tonkovich revealed. “It was not worth the effort, and didn’t help us control the herd in any way.”
He added that over the past several years, not a single hunter survey has been returned with a request to lengthen Ohio’s deer season.
Tom Micetich, deer project manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, agrees with Tonkovich.
“We have proven that shorter, separated gun seasons are not only the best way to manage our herd at a healthy and desirable level, they are also preferred by the great majority of our hunters,” he said.
Illinois offers 13 days of combined firearms deer seasons. They are split into three- and four-day groups and spread out over two months.
Illinois also experimented with a longer firearms season in the 1970s. They got the same results as Ohio.
“It was the only time our harvest actually dipped,” Micetich said. “The deer disappeared after the first few days, hurting the hunters who waited instead of harvesting the first deer they encountered. The result was hunters who normally killed deer in other years, likely ended that season empty-handed.”
Since returning to the current short gun season structure, 70 percent of Illinois deer hunters say they are satisfied with the timing and structure of deer season there.
Illinois and Ohio aren’t the only places where deer biologists and hunters are in step with shorter gun seasons. Kentucky allows a maximum of 27 days of firearms hunting, Missouri allows 21 days, Iowa allows 20 days and Wisconsin allows only 18 days of firearms hunting.
But a healthy, manageable deer herd is not the only reason deer managers in all those states prefer shorter gun seasons.
“Farmers and other landowners can deal with a week of the gun season, but more than that is an undue burden on them,” Tonkovich said.
He explained that the vast majority of trespass, poaching and harassment calls to the Ohio DNR happen during deer firearms season. Like Indiana, Ohio is approximately 95 percent private property, and that leads to a lot of problems since deer don’t respect boundary lines, he said.
“It is just an unsafe time for landowners,” he added, saying they are increasingly forced to patrol their property and confront intruders.
Ohio’s understanding of the burden a long gun season places on landowners is shared by every state in the Midwest except for, once again, Indiana.
“Deer firearms season is by far our busiest time of year,” said Jason Sherman, an Illinois conservation police officer. “I’m not saying I think deer gun hunters are bigger violators than anyone else. It is just a matter of volume.”
It’s a tough time for landowners, who are forced to defend their property against the sudden increase of people in the field, he added.
So, if shorter gun seasons are more efficient at controlling the deer herd, and if they reduce the conflicts between landowners, the non-hunting public and hunters, then why has the Indiana Department of Natural Resources clung to its antiquated management scheme?
Since hunter satisfaction is at an all-time high in both Ohio and Illinois, and they both continue to sell more deer tags every year, it can’t be because they fear losing hunters or revenue.
Only the DNR knows the answer to the question. It would be nice, however, if someone at the DNR could explain to the rest of the world why they are right and everyone else is wrong.
Don Mulligan can be reached at outdoorswithdon@aol.com.
I found the following statement from the article to be very interesting:
Although he declined to comment on Indiana’s deer management plan, Mike Tonkovich, Ohio’s top deer biologist, had a lot to say about long, drawn-out deer gun seasons. And none of it was good.
“If the goal is to cull more deer from the herd, there is no question that short, separated seasons is the way to go,” he said.
Even with two additional days last year, Ohio allowed only 13 days of combined firearms deer hunting in 2007. They also didn’t open gun season until November 26, more than a week later than Indiana.
“We experimented with a longer gun season in Ohio in 1995 and 1996. The additional days only accounted for two percent of the harvest,” Tonkovich revealed. “It was not worth the effort, and didn’t help us control the herd in any way.”
Here's the full text of the piece:
IDNR deer management out of step
February 8, 2008
Indiana’s firearm deer season is like none other in the Midwest. With 32 days of combined gun hunting allowed here, we not only have the longest seasons, but we’re also one of only a few states that open gun season during the peak of the chasing phase of the rut. That liberal management style has drawn the ire of hunters for years with little response by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
But hunters aren’t the only people who question the way our DNR structures deer season. Landowners and trained deer managers don’t understand why we have such long gun seasons either.
Though he declined to comment on Indiana’s deer management plan, Mike Tonkovich, Ohio’s top deer biologist, had a lot to say about long, drawn-out deer gun seasons. And none of it was good.
“If the goal is to cull more deer from the herd, there is no question that short, separated seasons is the way to go,” he said.
Even with two additional days last year, Ohio allowed only 13 days of combined firearms deer hunting in 2007. They also didn’t open gun season until November 26, more than a week later than Indiana.
“We experimented with a longer gun season in Ohio in 1995 and 1996. The additional days only accounted for two percent of the harvest,” Tonkovich revealed. “It was not worth the effort, and didn’t help us control the herd in any way.”
He added that over the past several years, not a single hunter survey has been returned with a request to lengthen Ohio’s deer season.
Tom Micetich, deer project manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, agrees with Tonkovich.
“We have proven that shorter, separated gun seasons are not only the best way to manage our herd at a healthy and desirable level, they are also preferred by the great majority of our hunters,” he said.
Illinois offers 13 days of combined firearms deer seasons. They are split into three- and four-day groups and spread out over two months.
Illinois also experimented with a longer firearms season in the 1970s. They got the same results as Ohio.
“It was the only time our harvest actually dipped,” Micetich said. “The deer disappeared after the first few days, hurting the hunters who waited instead of harvesting the first deer they encountered. The result was hunters who normally killed deer in other years, likely ended that season empty-handed.”
Since returning to the current short gun season structure, 70 percent of Illinois deer hunters say they are satisfied with the timing and structure of deer season there.
Illinois and Ohio aren’t the only places where deer biologists and hunters are in step with shorter gun seasons. Kentucky allows a maximum of 27 days of firearms hunting, Missouri allows 21 days, Iowa allows 20 days and Wisconsin allows only 18 days of firearms hunting.
But a healthy, manageable deer herd is not the only reason deer managers in all those states prefer shorter gun seasons.
“Farmers and other landowners can deal with a week of the gun season, but more than that is an undue burden on them,” Tonkovich said.
He explained that the vast majority of trespass, poaching and harassment calls to the Ohio DNR happen during deer firearms season. Like Indiana, Ohio is approximately 95 percent private property, and that leads to a lot of problems since deer don’t respect boundary lines, he said.
“It is just an unsafe time for landowners,” he added, saying they are increasingly forced to patrol their property and confront intruders.
Ohio’s understanding of the burden a long gun season places on landowners is shared by every state in the Midwest except for, once again, Indiana.
“Deer firearms season is by far our busiest time of year,” said Jason Sherman, an Illinois conservation police officer. “I’m not saying I think deer gun hunters are bigger violators than anyone else. It is just a matter of volume.”
It’s a tough time for landowners, who are forced to defend their property against the sudden increase of people in the field, he added.
So, if shorter gun seasons are more efficient at controlling the deer herd, and if they reduce the conflicts between landowners, the non-hunting public and hunters, then why has the Indiana Department of Natural Resources clung to its antiquated management scheme?
Since hunter satisfaction is at an all-time high in both Ohio and Illinois, and they both continue to sell more deer tags every year, it can’t be because they fear losing hunters or revenue.
Only the DNR knows the answer to the question. It would be nice, however, if someone at the DNR could explain to the rest of the world why they are right and everyone else is wrong.
Don Mulligan can be reached at outdoorswithdon@aol.com.